EPA Drafting Guidance On PFAS & Biosolids

CLIFF NOTES

• The EPA released draft guidance on PFAS in sewage sludge on July 1, 2026.
• The voluntary guidance focuses on reducing risks from PFOA and PFOS in biosolids.
• PFAS can enter wastewater plants through industrial, commercial, landfill, and household discharges.
• The EPA recommends monitoring, source identification, and industrial pretreatment to reduce contamination.
• Properly certified reverse osmosis and other filtration systems can reduce PFAS in drinking water.

 

PFAS in sewage sludge has become a growing concern because wastewater plants receive these persistent chemicals from industries, businesses, and households. On July 1, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released voluntary draft guidance designed to help wastewater facilities, farmers, landowners, and government agencies reduce potential risks from PFOA and PFOS in biosolids.

The guidance marks another step in the federal government’s effort to understand what happens when PFAS chemicals enter wastewater systems, collect in sewage sludge, and move into the environment through land application, disposal, or incineration.

The guidance is not a final regulation. It presents voluntary recommendations while the EPA gathers public comments and considers possible future actions.

What Are PFAS in Sewage Sludge?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS, are a large group of manufactured chemicals. They have been used in industrial processes and consumer products since the 1940s.

Thousands of PFAS are estimated to exist in the global marketplace. These chemicals have appeared in products designed to resist water, grease, heat, and stains.

PFAS can enter wastewater treatment plants from several sources, including:

• Industrial facilities, pulp and paper plants, and sites using aqueous film-forming foam.
• Commercial operations such as car washes and industrial laundries.
• Household products, including water-resistant sprays, ski wax, floor finishes, and stain-resistant textiles.
• Landfills and other upstream wastewater dischargers.

Wastewater treatment plants generally separate liquids from solids during treatment. The resulting semi-solid material is called sewage sludge. The EPA commonly uses the term biosolids for sewage sludge that has been treated to meet regulatory requirements and is intended for beneficial use as a soil conditioner or fertilizer.

The treatment process was not originally designed to eliminate every PFAS compound. As a result, some PFAS received by a plant may remain in the solids.

What Did the EPA Announce in July 2026?

On July 1, 2026, the EPA released its Draft Guidance for Reducing Risk from PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids under Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2026-2509.

PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, and PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, are two of the most studied PFAS compounds.

The draft guidance is intended to provide information for:

• Wastewater treatment plant operators.
• Facilities that manage sewage sludge.
• Farmers and landowners.
• State and Tribal water agencies.
• Members of the public.

The EPA described the recommendations as voluntary methods for potentially reducing risks associated with PFOA and PFOS when sewage sludge and biosolids are managed.

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer said:

“This draft guidance will provide Americans with commonsense recommendations that can protect public health, while also supporting wastewater systems and beneficial use of biosolids when appropriate.”

The EPA opened a 60-day public comment period scheduled to end on September 4, 2026. Comments submitted through the federal docket may also help shape later agency decisions.

Why Does PFAS in Biosolids Matter?

The central problem begins upstream.

Wastewater plants usually do not manufacture PFAS. They receive the chemicals through wastewater released by industries, commercial facilities, landfills, and homes.

Once PFAS enter a wastewater system, the chemicals may move through several environmental pathways. Sewage sludge may be:

• Applied to agricultural or other land.
• Placed in a sewage-sludge-only landfill, sometimes called a monofill.
• Incinerated.
• Managed through other approved disposal processes.

Each route presents different technical and operational questions. Land application can provide nutrients, improve soil health, support carbon storage, and reduce demand for nonrenewable resources such as phosphorus. At the same time, PFAS contamination raises concerns about how these persistent chemicals may move through soil, water, crops, animals, and surrounding ecosystems.

The EPA’s work therefore involves a balance between preserving appropriate uses of biosolids and reducing exposure where contamination may create risk.

What Does the EPA Recommend to States?

While federal research and policy work continue, the EPA recommends that states take action near the source of contamination.

The agency has advised states to:

• Monitor sewage sludge and biosolids for PFAS.
• Identify industrial facilities and other likely sources of PFAS discharges.
• Use industrial pretreatment requirements where appropriate.
• Reduce PFAS before the chemicals reach municipal wastewater plants.

Pretreatment requires certain industrial users to control pollutants before discharging wastewater into a publicly owned treatment system.

This approach follows a simple principle: preventing contamination upstream can reduce the burden placed on treatment plants, biosolids managers, communities, and ratepayers downstream.

The EPA has stated that source control and pretreatment can help lower PFAS concentrations in sewage sludge and reduce the amount of PFAS-contaminated residual material that must later be treated or disposed of.

What Did the 2025 Draft Risk Assessment Examine?

The July 2026 guidance follows an earlier scientific review.

On January 14, 2025, the EPA released the Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS under Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0504. The public comment period ended on August 14, 2025.

The assessment examined the agency’s scientific understanding of potential human-health and environmental risks connected to PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge that is:

• Applied to agricultural, forested, or other land.
• Placed in a surface disposal site.
• Incinerated.

The draft assessment was not a final rule. It was developed to support scientific review, public discussion, and possible future risk-management decisions.

How Is the EPA Studying PFAS in Sewage Sludge?

The EPA’s Biosolids Program conducts research intended to improve the scientific basis for public-health and environmental decisions.

The agency also provides competitive, peer-reviewed research grants to scientists and engineers at public and private universities, colleges, and research institutions.

Current research includes work on:

• PFAS testing and analytical methods.
• The movement and behavior of PFAS in land-applied biosolids.
• Sewage sludge incineration.
• Industrial sources of PFAS entering wastewater systems.
• Pretreatment and source-reduction strategies.
• Technologies for managing contaminated solids.

EPA Method 1633, developed with the Department of Defense, can measure 40 PFAS compounds in materials including wastewater, groundwater, soil, biosolids, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue.

What Is the National Sewage Sludge Survey?

The EPA is planning another National Sewage Sludge Survey in coordination with the Effluent Guidelines Program’s publicly owned treatment works influent PFAS study.

The survey is intended to collect current national data on PFAS concentrations in sewage sludge.

That information may help the EPA answer several important questions:

• Which PFAS are commonly found in sewage sludge?
• What concentration ranges appear across the country?
• Which upstream sources contribute the largest amounts?
• Which management practices may reduce risk?
• Where is additional research needed?

The resulting data will help inform future risk assessments and risk-management decisions.

How Is PFAS-Containing Sewage Sludge Managed?

PFAS destruction and disposal remain difficult because the chemicals are highly persistent.

Federal guidance has examined several approaches for managing PFAS-containing materials, including landfilling, underground injection, and thermal treatment. The EPA does not present one method as universally appropriate for every site.

In April 2026, the agency issued an updated version of its interim guidance on PFAS destruction and disposal. That guidance includes a framework for evaluating emerging technologies and recommends choosing options with a lower potential for releasing PFAS, based on the conditions at each site.

The guidance does not create new disposal requirements.

What Did Wastewater and Waste-Management Stakeholders Report?

During 2023 and 2024, the EPA worked with the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and other stakeholders to hold three workshops on PFAS in biosolids.

The workshops involved 21 participants representing:

• Wastewater utilities.
• Solid-waste organizations.
• State regulatory agencies.
• The EPA.

Participants discussed the benefits and difficulties connected to the three primary biosolids-management options. They also examined treatment technologies, available capacity, public-health needs, communication practices, and gaps in current knowledge.

The resulting December 2024 report summarized the participants’ views. It did not claim that the participants had reached a consensus, and it did not issue recommendations for action.

How Does This Affect Farmers and Landowners?

Farmers and landowners may rely on biosolids as a source of nutrients and organic material. The discovery of PFAS can therefore create practical and financial uncertainty.

Questions may arise about:

• The source of contaminated biosolids.
• Available testing records.
• Previous land applications.
• State-specific requirements.
• Future use of affected land.
• Potential effects on water supplies, livestock, crops, or nearby properties.

The EPA’s draft guidance may help establish more consistent risk-reduction practices, but site conditions remain important. PFAS concentrations, soil properties, water movement, application history, and local regulations can differ from one property to another.

State environmental and agricultural agencies may provide instructions that go beyond federal guidance.

How Does This Affect Wastewater Treatment Plants?

Wastewater utilities stand at the center of a problem they often did not create.

Plants receive PFAS from upstream users, yet they must manage the contaminated water and solids that remain. Testing, storage, transportation, treatment, land application, and disposal can all add operational costs.

The EPA’s emphasis on industrial monitoring and pretreatment may shift greater attention toward the original sources of PFAS. Reducing incoming contamination could lower long-term management costs and preserve more options for the beneficial use of biosolids.

Reliable national concentration data will also help facilities compare local test results with broader patterns.

Can Home Water Treatment Reduce PFAS Exposure?

PFAS in sewage sludge and PFAS in drinking water are related environmental issues, but they require different control strategies.

Source reduction and industrial pretreatment address PFAS before or during wastewater collection. Household drinking-water treatment creates an additional barrier where water is consumed.

The EPA has found that point-of-use granular activated carbon, ion-exchange, and reverse osmosis systems can greatly reduce PFAS when the equipment is properly selected and maintained. A system should carry an independent certification for the relevant PFAS-reduction claim. NSF/ANSI 58 applies to reverse osmosis systems, while NSF/ANSI 53 may apply to certain PFAS-reducing filters.

A standard whole-home water conditioner is generally designed to address hardness minerals or other specific water-quality conditions. It should not be assumed to remove PFAS unless the system includes treatment media and verified performance claims specifically intended for PFAS reduction.

Water testing remains the first practical step. Treatment should be matched to the contaminants and concentrations found in the source water.

What Happens Next With PFAS in Sewage Sludge?

The EPA’s July 2026 draft guidance signals a stronger focus on preventing PFAS from entering wastewater systems, measuring contamination in sewage sludge, and reducing risk during biosolids management.

The public comment period is scheduled to close on September 4, 2026. The agency may revise the guidance after reviewing submitted comments and may use the information to support future policy or regulatory actions.

For wastewater utilities, farmers, regulators, and communities, the central lesson is clear: PFAS in sewage sludge cannot be managed at one point alone. The chemicals must be traced from their original sources through wastewater treatment, biosolids management, soil, and water.

Source: EPA